ANGA Cable 2010 – Cologne. “Cable investments should be rewarded, we should not be punished,” said Thomas Braun, president ANGA Association of German Cable Operators, during his opening speech of this year’s show and conference. “Cable networks should be treated equally with fibre nets.”
In Germany, the cablers are fast catching up, providing their customer with ever faster broadband access thanks to investments in the networks and the introduction of DOCSIS 3.0. “We started later, but we are now in the fast lane. Cable is the motor in the competition for price-performance. We are now building up broadband and telephony as well.”
One out of three new broadband customers now choose cable Internet, “cable is best equipped to deliver 100 Mbps access.”
On the issue of ‘open access’, Braun said “The subject is much discussed, but also falsely interpreted.” He called for competition between infrastructures rather than on them. “Cable is one of the few parts of the economy that has grown and there is still a lot of growth potential.”
Speaking to a packed house, Braun welcomed the visitors “Neither ash nor the recession has stopped you from coming to this, the 12th ANGA Cable show, which is again the most important show for cable operators, manufacturers and channel providers in Europe.” Last year, some 40% of all visitors came from outside Germany, making this an international event.